Berlin in a nutshell. Peculiar mix of people - 70 year-old ladies in old-fashioned evening dresses and gentlemen in suits, urban bummers in Hugo Boss as well as crazy hipsters are to be seen in this old ballroom (existed since 1913) in the centre of Berlin.

Situated in a scraped building surrounded by numerous art galleries, the place was visited by Tom Cruise during his search for old-fashioned shooting locations for the film 'Valkyrie'. Good food and delicious home-made cakes. Music changes depending on the day (cha cha, swing, waltz and tango). In the summer, the garden is an additional attraction.

If you walk down the Auguststr (Berlin Mitte), you'll spot an enchanting garden and the scraped building behind it.
Clärchens Ballhaus, Auguststraße 24, Berlin Mitte.
www.ballhaus.de/

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Cafe 100 Wasser is a good place to have a chilled out meal and a beer in the evening. The menu includes couscous, pizza and pasta at affordable prices.

Good service, relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff.

Cafe 100 Wasser
Simon-Dach-Straße 39
Berlin, Berlin 10245
Tel: +49 (0)30 2900 1356
info@cafe-100-wasser.de
www.cafe-100-wasser.de

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This Friedrichshain bar has great atmosphere. Relax in the shabby chic surroundings (standard lamps, rugs, armchairs and wine-coloured walls) and enjoy whittling away the hours listening to the eclectic soundtrack, sipping beer for under two euros. Friendly staff and chilled out clientele. Look out for the wooden bowls of tea (bit odd and bitter).

Macondo
Boxhanger Platz, Friedrichshain

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Small but perfectly formed cafe next to the Arcohotel in Mitte. Great espresso, big bowls of latte plus free wireless internet (admittedly a bit intermittent).

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Nice American-style cafe bar serving delicious food in the hip Schlesisches Str area in Kreuzberg.

Near Schlesisches Tor u-bahn

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Atmospheric cafe/restaurant inside an old villa. Walk through the dark wood and red leather interior to the pretty garden courtyard at the back. Serves great coffee and apple strudel.

Kurfurstenstrasse 58

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Fantastic Vietnamese cafe/bar, serving unbelievably cheap fresh noodles, soups, dumplings and juices in a trendy bit of Mitte. Young and cool and always very crowded, with a picture of Monsieur Vuong on the bright yellow and red walls. A welcome respite from too many wursts!

Alte Schonhauser Strasse 46, Mitte
www.monsieurvuong.de

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A lovely front room style cafe/bar. Relaxed vibe, friendly waitress/owner, comfy sofas, interesting wines, nice big cups of tea, and all at very decent prices.
Music was occassionally a bit naff and paintings are not all that, but we had a lovely chilled out time.
Opens 15h00-late in the winter, and 17h00-late in the summer.

Auguststraße 61
10119 Berlin

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A 365m high space age tower. A zooming lift takes you to a viewing platform with fabulous vistas all over Berlin. For a meal or snack pop up to the revolving Tele-cafe, and watch Berlin spin slowly by whilst you enjoy a cake or, if it is warm, even an ice cream!

From Molly Quinlan (age 9).

U Bahn Alexanderplatz. More info at: www.berlinerfernsehturm.de

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Very nice small cafe with very good food and Celeste is the sweetest girl I ever met.

Pariser Lunchbox
Pariser Str. 58, 10719 Berlin
www.myspace.com/PariserLunchbox

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The neighbourhood to be in Berlin. Typically East German buildings now house “multi-kulti” inhabitants.

Rents are relatively cheap so it’s the preferred area of students, making it very lively and full of bustling clubs and cafes.

East Berlin

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Opernpalais cafe at Unter den Linden offers an experience unequalled anywhere that I know of. The opulent surroundings are only upstaged by the wonderful choice of delicious cakes. You can imagine being here in a long past era, whiling away your leisure hours with good conversation, kaffee und kuchen. Not to be missed.

Opernpalais, Unter den Linden 5, 10117 Berlin. Tel. 030 2026 83

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Hidden away in Berlin's laid back East Side, this back-of-a-boatshed haunt for recovering weekenders and general misfits exemplifies the best of Berlin's DIY bar culture. Comfily lo-fi, still manages a natural tree-covered canopy, a covered cinema, consistently brilliant music, and plenty of canalside seats (even if that means sitting in a boat). Staff are friendly and sound without being too-cool-for-school, and atmosphere will accommodate everyone happily, whatever your pleasure. Only in Berlin...

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The first place to head for a pre-match drink is the square around Hakescher Markt S-Bahn stop. When the weather's fine everyone sits outside and enjoys a quiet drink amid the hustle and bustle of the city's old Jewish quarter... more like being in Paris or Milan than Germany!

Just outside Hackescher Markt S-Bahnhof

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Unbelievable tapas bar that we only visited by chance after being rudely barged out of the queue for the Fernsehturm cafe. I have never eaten tapas in Spain but I cannot believe it can be any better than this. The place is completely rammed in the evening but on a Sunday afternoon it was scandalously easy to get a table. Cross my heart I will never eat in La Tasca again…

Rosenthaler Strasse 37, U-Bahn Hackescher Markt; tel 030 283 912 13

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Cafe in Prenzlauer Berg - excellent food, bargain prices and a fantastic, stylish, relaxed atmosphere.

Knaackstrasse 22-24. Nearest U-Bahn: Senefelder-platx
www.bar-gagarin.de

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Courage is a little cafe just up the road from the world famous Circus Hostel. It's cramped and dark with a fantastic atmosphere and even better beer. The menu is ridiculously low budget, firm favourites of mine are the steak with roast vegetables and ice und heiss - ice cream with hot summer berries. A real find.

Just off Rose Luxemborg Platz

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A square in Prenzlauer Berg district just north of the perhaps better known Kollwitzplatz. The square is dotted with bars and cafes which continue off along Raumer-, Lychener-, and Dunckerstraße (where I live as it happens). It's a great summer hang out. Plus there's a youth hostel on the North side of the square.

Nearest stations are Schoenhauser Allee and Prenzlauer Alle (both S-Bahn), and Eberswalder Straße (U-Bahn)

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Coffee served in massive bowls, cakes the size of your head and all in a cosy little bar hidden in a leafy courtyard in a very pretty part of the town. I was only in Berlin for five days but made time every day for a trip to this cafe.

Sophienstr. 21 10178 Berlin (www.barcomis.de)

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A cafe that is cuddly and hip at the same time. Stellar coffee, ground on the premises, plus a huge variety of fantastic pastries and cakes and in unforced, friendly atmosphere. Ground coffee can be bought to take away too.

Bergmanstrasse, Kreuzberg. U-Bahn: Gneisenaustr

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends